Southside
Domains University Ruins ATTITUDE: Dead. Mental -5, Physical +3, Social +3. TRAITS: Access -3, Safety +2, Information -4, Ignorance +3, Prestige -4, Stability +4, FP 1. The Ruins are practically forgotten, banished from the city's thought except for the occasional spelunking tourist. There are bus routes that pass relatively nearby, but the ruins are still water- and rubble-logged. No one willingly comes here, which makes the area paradoxically safe. There's no access to information here, and the few people who come here are more focused on adventure than their dismal surroundings. The area's decay is on a geological timescale, now. The Tunnels ATTITUDE: Dead. Mental -5, Physical +3, Social +3. TRAITS: Access -4, Safety -2, Information -5, Ignorance +3, Prestige -4, Stability +3, FP 2. The tunnels beneath Miskatonic University and most of Arkham south of the river have existed since Native American times, and probably much, much longer. Geology professors who studied parts of the tunnels theorized that they were formed by glacial activity during the last great ice age, and had been modified and added to by generations of humans over the years: Misquat Native Americans practicing dark pagan magics; suspected witches hiding from Puritan justice; American revolutionaries hiding arms and stores from the British; crooks running hooch through the tunnels during Prohibition. Regardless of their origins and varied history, the tunnels were both a boon and a mystery. On snowy or very rainy days, campus denizens used portions of the tunnels to get to classes or offices without worrying about the precipitation. Departments used the tunnels for storage and to move equipment while avoiding crowds between classes. Some students with an abundance of free time enjoyed exploring (or "ratting") the tunnels for fun. They have no true beginning nor ending, and no one has ever claimed to have a complete or even fairly comprehensive knowledge of their twistings and turnings. Most campus folk aware of the tunnels stuck to "their" section of the underground labyrinth and used it for their own purpose, too busy or too intimidated to venture beyond known boundaries. The Tunnels are often cramped and twisted, and difficult to safely access. Those who don't know the winding ways risk getting lost down here and starving to death - or into torpor. The rats and roaches are everywhere, and can be quite aggressive, while sinkholes and other perils lurk below the surface of flooded tunnels. Other than the occasional homeless taking shelter down here, nothing human dwells in the Tunnels. It's safe to assume that anyone down here is dangerous and quite possibly unfit for life on the surface. There is no access to information, with even cellphone signals blocked by the earth above, but no one really cares what goes on down here anyway. Whitechapel ATTITUDE: Accepting. Mental +3, Physical -3, Social +3. TRAITS: Access +2, Safety +1, Information +3, Ignorance +1, Prestige +2, Stability +1, FP 3. Whitechapel is easily reached by bus or car, and the streets are broad and well lit, especially around the hospital. The neighborhood is safe. The libraries and computers here are all very good, but the premises are not as carefully monitored as they could be. In addition to the customary informational resources, the locals are also more than happy to talk about what's going on, and the layout of the area is very open and secure. The neighborhood's a good one, and surviving the downfall of Campus has formed strong community ties. Birchen ATTITUDE: Unruly. Mental -3, Physical -3, Social -1. TRAITS: Access -1, Safety -3, Information -1, Ignorance +1, Prestige -3, Stability -3, FP 3. Birchen is a maze of twisting streets, and crime is high. This is one of the more dangerous areas of town. Folks tend to assume that everyone from this area is a pimp, crack whore, or homeless lunatic who'd step over a dying man before offering to help him. For the most part, they're right. There are few local informational resources, and the convoluted streets make visibility difficult. There are CCTV cameras outside the most important locations, however, hidden by black plastic hemispheres. Loftus ATTITUDE: Simmering. Mental +0, Physical -2, Social -2. TRAITS: Access -2, Safety -3, Information -2, Ignorance +3, Prestige -3, Stability +2, FP 3. Arkham's Asian community is packed into the same tenements that housed earlier waves of European immigrants almost a century ago. The twisting streets are riddled with potholes and many streetlamps are out. Crime has been on the rise over the last five years, notably serious crime such as violent assaults and arson. The small streets and frequent, winding alleys make it an easy place for criminals to snatch something (or someone) and flee. Prostitutes work the streets most nights, their pimps lurking nearby in doorways or cruising in ridiculously small, low to the ground, tricked out compact cars. While not an esteemed neighborhood or one frequented by the police, Loftus is protected by its own private defenders, a particularly violent neighborhood watch that calls themselves the Manananggal. Those who don't belong here find that knowledge is withheld, and doors and shutters close, as everyone turns a blind eye. Litter fills the streets and sidewalks; losing lottery tickets, crumpled cigarette packages and beer bottles gather at curbsides. The crowds and tangled alleyways are easy to hide in, though. Category:Arkham Category:Birchen Category:Loftus Category:Domain traits Category:University Ruins Category:Whitechapel Category:The Tunnels Category:Southside